Dozens of US congressional delegates from both parties are currently visiting Israel. The visit was organized by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The Democratic delegation includes 32 first-time representatives (as well as nine veteran Democratic congressmen) who are getting something of a "crash course" on Israel so that when they return to Capitol Hill, they will be equipped with the information and knowledge needed for them to make decisions supportive of Israel.
Will they do as AIPAC asks? After all, they are not being asked to sign a pledge to vote for Israel from now on.
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On the other hand, they may gain a greater understanding of one very important issue: the settlement enterprise. The delegates attended a debate carefully crafted to show both sides of the argument – the pro-settlement position was presented by Oded Ravivi, mayor of Efrat, while the anti-settlement position was presented by former Peace Now chief Yariv Oppenheimer. The debate definitely imparted new information on the new legislators, who learned a thing or two about a hot-button issue that also sometimes muddles Israel-US relations.
Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) participated in this trip. This is an important point as he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will, in many ways, determine the nature of how Democrats vote on various issues, including on Israel.
Hoyer's tone when I interviewed him for Channel 1 international news edition over the weekend, left little to the imagination. Hoyer, who is known for his pro-Israel positions, did not mince words when he criticized Israel's settlement policy.
The settlements, he said, undermine the two-state solution and any chance of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians. Contrary to the American practice of avoiding political criticism during overseas visits, he also lambasted President Donald Trump, who he accused of waging inflammatory rhetoric rife with incitement, which only deepens the internal rift in the United States.
This is not something that can be discounted. While many of the Democrats in Congress disapprove of the settlement enterprise, their public remarks are almost always styled in a way that cannot be interpreted as having a dispute with Israel, and here is Hoyer, expressing his views in great detail.
If anything, his remarks are further evidence that the Democratic Party's support for Israel's policies is diminishing, certainly in comparison to the enthusiastic support expressed by the Republican Party. It seems that there is a crack in the veneer of bipartisan support for Israel. Hoyer stressed that in Congress, both parties' support for Israel remains as steadfast as always.
